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August 7, 2026
- EAST JERUSALEM: E-1 Update; Settlers Take Over Old City Property
- WEST BANK: Mass Demolitions Target Al-Walaja; Beit El School Opens to “Rehab” Hilltop Youth
- STATE-BACKED SETTLER TERRORISM: Mass Attack on Tuba; Yinon Levy Indicted
EAST JERUSALEM
E-1 Update: Tenders Not Published (Yet)
The Israeli government announced that the publication of two tenders for construction of the E-1 settlement has been delayed but is expected to be published “in two to three months, or sooner.” The two tenders providing for the construction of 3,401 settlement units and for hte construction of an industrial zone were expected to be published on August 5th. The State notified Peace Now, Ir Amim and Bimkom of the delay in publication because the organizations jointly have a petition pending with the government against the E-1 plan.
The organizations put out a joint statement warning that this is not to be taken as good news, saying:
“It should be underscored that the carefully chosen language of the state attorney’s response commits the state to nothing, while deliberately fostering ambiguity. Nevertheless, it is clear that the government remains intent on opening the tenders prior to the upcoming elections to solidify an irreversible reality on the ground.”
Terrestrial Jerusalem’s Danny Seidemann writes:
“While there is no reason to doubt the State Attorneys’ notice, it remains clear that the publication will indeed take place in the near future. The fact that Israel is in an election cycle, with Netanyahu’s coalition parties competing for the role of “standard bearer” of West Bank settlements, it is not inconceivable that interested parties will force publication in the heat of the election campaign.”
Settlers Displace, Replace Elderly Family in Jerusalem’s Old City
Peace Now reports that settlers affiliated with the Ateret Cohanim organization have taken over a home in Jerusallem’s Old City after evicting its Palestinian owners, the elderly Basha family who had lived there since the 1930s. An Israeli Court ruled that the property belongs to a Jewish religious trust that owned and operated a religious school at the property a century ago.
Peace Now said in a statement:
“This is an injustice that cries out to heaven. While hundreds of thousands of Israelis live securely in properties that belonged to Palestinians before 1948, the law in East Jerusalem allows Palestinians to be dispossessed of homes that belonged to Jews before 1948. The government has established a mechanism for the dispossession and expulsion of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, and the General Custodian, a governmental body, has become a central executive arm of this policy. In addition to dozens of eviction lawsuits filed in recent years against Palestinians, the Custodian has also initiated and advanced plans for new settlements within Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem.”
WEST BANK
Mass Demolition Orders Delivered to West Bank Section of Al-Walaja
Ir Amim reports that over the past four months the Israeli Civil Administration has issued 72 demolition orders against buildings in al-Walaja, a tiny Palestinian village to the south of Jerusalem that is partially in the West Bank Area C and partially inside of the Israeli municipal borders of Jerusalem.
In total, because many of the targeted buildings are multi-story complexes, the demolition orders stand to forcibly displace over 100 families. The oders also target the village’s only school.
Ir Amim writes:
“Since the beginning of the year, approximately five homes have already been demolished, underscoring that these new orders pose a real risk of large-scale demolitions. Meanwhile, approval of a village outline plan that would have enabled residents to obtain building permits has remained frozen for more than five years.
At the same time, in the Jerusalem-annexed part of the village, where demolitions have continued since 2016, the Jerusalem District Planning Committee has halted the advancement of an outline plan for this area despite a decade of painstaking efforts by the al-Walaja community and despite recognition by various Israeli authorities that the plan meets the required planning criteria. As a result, there is growing concern that demolitions in the annexed part of the village will escalate if the protection currently afforded to 38 homes through the planning process is withdrawn.”
Israel Opens School for “Hilltop Youth” Settlers in Beit El
On August 4th, Israeli Education Minister Yoav Kisch participated in the inauguration of a new school in the Beit El settlement intended to enroll members of the Hilltop Youth organization, a violent extremist settler group composed of mostly young settlers who terrorize the West Bank and participate in the rapid spread of illegal farming outposts that take over and control massive amounts of Palestinian land with only a few settlers and their livestock. Hilltop Youth also clash with the Israeli IDF, which they perceive to be limiting their territorial ambitions in the West Bank. The government plans a total of four schools geared towards “rehabilitating” Hilltop Youth.
According to a new report by Kerem Navot and Peace Now, farming outposts control ~18% of the West Bank (1,070,000 dunams).
STATE-BACKED SETTLER TERRORISM
Mass Settler Attack on Tuba
The small village of Tubas in the South Hebron Hills was attacked by settlers on August 5th.
According to reports from the village, approximately 40 Israeli settlers raided the village, destroyed the solar panels that provide electricity to the community, set fire to homes and buildings, vandalized homes causing extensive damage. Settlers injured several and assaulted a Palestinian child.
Settler is Indicted One Year After Murder of Awdah Hathaleen Caught on Film
Shortly after friends and family marked the one year anniversary of the murder of Awdah Hathaleen, a prominent human rights activist and beloved teacher in the South Hebron Hills, Israel announced that it has indicted settler Yinon Levy for manslaughter (reckless homicide). Levy is sanctioned by several European governments for his involvement in violence against Palestinians, and has been under house arrest since his murder of Hathaleen.
As a reminder, Yesh Din has shown that only 3% of cases of settler violence against Palestinians lead to a full or partial conviction. B’Tselem says Levy’s indictment s the first time since Oct. 7, 2023, that an Israeli has been indicted for killing a Palestinian in the West Bank.
BONUS READS
- “Israeli West Bank settler tells BBC attacks on Palestinians are justified as revenge” (BBC, 8/1/2026)
- “After dissing IDF West Bank chief, announcing replacement on live TV, Katz now says he’s doing ‘well,’ isn’t ousted” (The Times of Israeli, 8/4/2026)
- “Digitizing Occupation: The Role of Big Tech in Israeli Military Infrastructure” (Who Profits, June 2026)
- “Abandoned by the US: Palestinian Americans trapped in a surge of Israeli settler violence” (The Guardian, 8/3/2026)
- “A Year After a Settler Shot Awdah Hathaleen, His Village Still Can’t Mourn in Peace” (Haaretz, 8/2/2026)
- “Who is behind settler violence in the occupied West Bank?” (Al Jazeera, 8/4/2026)
- “Israel Captured 230 Square Miles of Lebanon, Razed Villages and Built New Bases” (Haaretz, 8/5/2026)